Kali Mirch Gosht Ka Salan (Mutton/Lamb Black Pepper Curry)

Pepper Mutton/Lamb curry is a spicy and tasty black pepper curry made with few ingredients. It is a must dish for black pepper lovers. In urdu/hindi, it is known as kali mirch gosht ka salan. This dish features more often that usual at homes during cold winter days or when someone at home has cold, cough or recovering after fever. I learnt this recipe from my mom. The combination of onion and black pepper gives the curry a sweet and spicy taste. Whenever I prepare this curry, I have it with plain rice with a drizzle of lemon juice, which gives me a sour taste along with the peppery taste of black pepper.

Preparation time: 10 mins

Cooking time: 35 mins

Cuisine: Andhra (home style)

Spiciness: Medium

Serves: 1-2

Ingredients

Mutton/lamb - 450 gms
Oil – 5 tbsp
Cloves - 5
Cinnamon stick (2 inch sticks) – 2
Green cardamom – 4
Ginger and garlic paste – 2 tsp
Black pepper (freshly ground, coarse powder) – 1/2 tsp
Water – 1 cup
Salt - as per taste

Garnishing

Coriander leaves – 2 tbsp

Paste

Onion (medium size) - 2 or 170 gms
Coriander leaves – 1/3 cup
Black Pepper corns - 1 tsp to 1 1/2 tsp

Method

Chop onion and coriander leaves roughly with its thin stalk.
Make a paste with onion, pepper corns and coriander leaves. After grinding, keep the paste aside. Instead of pepper corns, you can add freshly ground coarse powder, while grinding.

Take a pressure cooker or any vessel. Add oil, mutton pieces, whole spices, ginger and garlic paste, ground paste, black pepper powder, all together and cook according to your cooker instructions. 3 to 4 whistles were enough to cook the mutton with my cooker.

Wait for a few minutes until all the pressure (steam) is released.
Open the lid, add salt and stir well.

If the gravy is thin, cook for a few more minutes, until the gravy is according to the consistency you want and starts leaving oil.

Simmer for about 5 mins and switch the heat off.
If cooking in a kadai, put all ingredients (may need more water to cook mutton/lamb), close the lid and cook until the mutton is cooked well and a gravy consistency is formed. Simmer for another 5 mins and switch the heat off. Stir occasionally so that it does not stick to the vessel.
The gravy has a peppery colour. Serve the pepper mutton curry with rice or chapathi or naan or pulao.

Squeeze some lemon juice on the gravy and eat it with plain rice. It will be sour and peppery and tastes great.

Notes

I have cooked pepper mutton curry as semi-gravy type (thick gravy, coating mutton/lamb).
I have used pressure cooker to cook this dish, if you do not have one, you can use any vessel or kadai.
You can grind black peppercorns with onion or you can add coarsely ground pepper powder in the onion to make an onion paste.
While grinding, the paste colour varies as per the coriander leaves added.
If the mutton is not cooked, add more water and cook.
You can cook this dish even with chicken.